The Dog in the House 33 



for strong dogs in the summer-time let it be cold water. It is preferable 

 to put the dog in the empty tub or bath, and let an attendant pour on the 

 clean water from a jug or water-pot while you rinse out the coat with both 

 hands so as to remove every particle of the soap. On large and hardy 

 dogs you can use the lawn water-pipe. This cooler bath not only cleans out 

 the soap, but to a great extent prevents colds. 



As it takes considerable time to soap large dogs with a cake of soap and 

 get a good lather, it will be found more convenient to shave the soap and 

 dissolve it in warm water, using this either by laving it on with the hand as 

 needed or pouring it along the back and rubbing the lather down the sides. 

 Some dogs object to being washed, but no matter how fractious they may 

 be, a little patience and firmness never fails to quiet them. In such cases 

 wash the body first, and when they are quieted do the head. Let them know 

 that they must submit, and they will. The toys are more likely to be the 

 worst, but as they know the ashamed tone of voice very well, hold the little 

 rascals down by their forelegs and talk to them seriously. If on letting go 

 one of the legs a toy dog does not struggle, tell him what a nice little dog he 

 is, and he is very certain to behave himself. If he does not, then repeat the 

 process till he does. 



Now comes the hardest part of the process, the drying. Here again 

 weather and the variety of the dog create differences. A good, hardy ter- 

 rier in the summer-time is a very different thing from a toy in the winter. 

 Having thoroughly rinsed all soap from the coat, empty the bath, and 

 placing the dog in it or some place where the drip from the coat will not 

 damage anything, squeeze as much of the water out as you can, running the 

 hands the way of the coat and down the legs, squeezing the foot. After that 

 take a sponge and go over the coat in a similar manner. If the dog is not 

 long-coated so as to get snarled, the sponge may be rubbed up and down 

 in the coat and will be found to absorb much of the water. The next proc- 

 ess is rubbing with a towel, and this should continue till the coat is well 

 dried, more particularly in cold weather, and in the case of delicate dogs, 

 or of those which cannot be liberated for a smart run in the warm sunshine 

 on account of their being prepared for show. This point will be treated 

 later. You cannot err in drying the dog well, so do it thoroughly and in the 

 case of toys use dry, warm towels, thereafter applying a warm brush and the 

 hands till no trace of dampness remains in the coat. In the country in sum- 

 mer time, when one has a good lawn on which to let a dog run, the sun and 



